Coping with the Stress of Motherhood

This week for Managing the Chaos, I am sharing with you a post on Coping with the Stress of Motherhood from Krystle of The Beekeepers Tales. I think we can all relate to the fact that motherhood is a tireless, never-ending job and Krystle is sharing some great tips about how she copes with the daily stresses of the job.

COPING WITH THE STRESS OF MOTHERHOOD

Mother.

It sounds simple. A title worn by those that mother a child whether they gave birth to that child, foster that child, adopted that child, etc.

But it is by far one of the most complex titles that can be worn.

Not only is a mother the caretaker of the children, but usually of the house and everything inside of it. That is a huge responsibility.

With a responsibility, this big comes a lot of stress. You literally feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and that is because the weight of your world (your family) really is.

I found a few simple ways to help myself cope with the stress, hopefully, they will also be of help to some of you.

1. I wake up early. I know, you’re probably thinking “but I like to sleep in” and I get it, I do. For me, waking up early means that I get to drink coffee, prepare lunches, get clothes out for the day, and make breakfast. If I have plans for the day – I shower and start getting ready while waiting for the kids to get up. On the days that I do sleep in, I find myself so scattered. I forget to pack Cam’s lunch, scramble to get any sort of breakfast on the table, and often – forget to brush the kid’s teeth.

2. I try to get at least one “mom time” thing scheduled for myself a month. This does often include getting a sitter, but it is oh so worth it. This month I went to a girlfriends in-home birthday wine tasting. I had never been to a wine tasting, so getting to experience it in her house, with other women I was acquainted with, while just hanging out was such a great time.

3. Shopping is a true mood lifter, sometimes I treat myself to something I wouldn’t normally buy. It makes me feel good and cheers me up a little. I am not saying you have to spend money on yourself to feel good – but a little treat never hurt.

4. I get dressed. I often find that after a few days of being in leggings and t-shirts, hair in a messy bun, and no makeup – I start to get into a funk. Once I realize this is happening, I will skip whatever chores I am supposed to do and use nap time to shower, get dressed, dry my hair, and put on some makeup. I might not even be leaving the house except to pick up Cam from preschool, but it makes me feel better to be a clean and functioning member of the world.

5. I drink coffee. I know, that sounds cliche. Every morning I get up early (like I said) and run to Dunkin Donuts. We live 4.5 miles away from one and I sneak away while everyone is asleep and grab myself a large caramel iced coffee to start the day. I love the taste of that combination so much that sometimes, a bad afternoon turns into a trip through the drive-thru for a decaffeinated version just so I can get that sweet guilty pleasure taste. I am not at all ashamed to say that I just love their coffee enough to drink it even when the caffeine isn’t necessary (which is hardly ever who are we kidding).

6. Communication. I made a commitment to myself to stop holding things in. Now when something starts to bother me or I start to feel resentment towards my husband (you know, since he gets to be in his car, in silence, for two hours a day or since he showers every day, alone) – I tell him. I get it off my chest before it begins to build and fester. I make sure to just tell him. Sometimes my text literally looks like this:

“Hey, I’m feeling some resentment about _________, we don’t have to talk about it – I just needed to get it off my chest. love you”
and no, I’m not kidding. I sent that exact text to him two days ago.

I hope that you take this and use some of these in your life. It is important that we, as the mothers, take the best care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and mentally in order to take the best care of our family.

xoxo K

Meet Krystle:

Krystle is a twenty-something former finance manager turned SAHM to two under three and wife to a suit-wearing businessman. Lover of Dunkin Donuts, decorating our sort of farmhouse, finding amazing sales, and crafting with my kids. Residing in Maryland, building my tribe one coffee addicted momma at a time. You can follow Krystle on her blog, The BeeKeeper’s Tales, as well as on Instagram @the_beekeeper

Getting to know Krystle:

When did you become a mother?
I became a mother two years and eight months ago on March 14, 2015.

What’s the most rewarding part of motherhood for you?
The most rewarding part of motherhood is watching your littles become their own people. Every time my son carries on a full conversation with me and repeats back things he heard from me along the way, my heart is proud of how observant he is. As my daughter gets bigger, her little personality shines through more and more. Fiesty, fiery, and full of sass – she’s going to be a force.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced since becoming a mother?
The biggest challenge I faced since becoming a mother is realizing that I do not have to do it all in one day. Instead of continuing to overwhelm myself with the small tasks I had not completed, I started to focus on what I had done – the time I had spent with my kids instead of the laundry – realizing how much more important that will always be.

I completely agree! Especially when you choose to be a SAHM. I feel bad admitting that I struggle with it at times because I chose to be home instead of work full time. But no one ever said it’d be easy, but it sure is worth it in my opinion.

This is such good article. I️ also hold things in and it makes my mind feel cluttered and drags me down. It’s so important to share how you’re feeling. And getting dressed sounds simple but it really does make a difference!

Really enjoyed reading this post! Such great advice to any mommy out there. I need to be more diligent at diarising time for myself – too often I neglect my own needs for those of my children or husband.

Mom time is something I need to work on – other than my gym time 1-3x a week, I really only get out with girlfriends sans kiddos a couple times a year. Every time we do, I say we need to make it happen more often, and then it doesn’t. Ha